As we enjoy this time of family and give thanks for many blessings, I think of children who do not live with families of their own. After adopting two of our children through Holt International Children’s services, my husband and I became aware of the overwhelming number of vulnerable children in the word. Children […]
Field Trips
Nuts for Nuts!
When autumn arrives, most people think of pumpkins and colorful leaves. Now, I like pumpkins and leaves as much as anyone but around here are other signs of the season. I’m thinking of nuts! When I first moved to California’s Central Valley I was amazed to drive past mile after mile of walnut trees. Our […]
Three Books for a Pumpkin Patch
Every year my field trip buddy, Carmen, plants an acre of pumpkins at her family’s Bettencourt Farms. She plants a great variety making sure to have giant, tiny, heirloom, and different colored pumpkins. Then she opens her patch to local kids to come and enjoy. I get to be the official pumpkin presenter. Yesterday, Hanford […]
Citizen Science on Coastal Cleanup Day with 3 Ocean Books
Field trips are good for people of all ages. I recently joined up with a group of students from Cal Poly, SLO (translation: California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo) to celebrate Coastal Cleanup Day. Coastal Cleanup Day was first held in Oregon in 1984. California’s Coastal Cleanup Day began the following year and has been […]
Lost in Translation – Chinese style
Getting around China was interesting since I don’t speak the language and certainly can’t read it. Things became even more interesting when we started reading signs that had been translated into English. The creativity of the translators is amazing or else the Chinese – English dictionary was written with a sense of humor. […]